UW researcher and spinoff company to receive MIT technology awards
The MIT Club of Wisconsin, a state association for alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is recognizing a University of Wisconsin–Madison influenza researcher and a bioscience spinoff company on Friday at its annual Technology Achievement Awards banquet.
Receiving honors this year in the individual category is Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a UW–Madison virologist and professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine. Kawaoka has gained worldwide recognition for his research on how influenza viruses replicate and the genetic contributors to virulence.
In the small company category, the club will recognize Quintessence Biopharmaceuticals of Madison, a company that grew out of the advances of UW–Madison chemistry and biochemistry professors Laura Kiessling and Ron Raines. Quintessence is an early-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on development of human therapeutics.
In addition to the two winners with UW–Madison affiliations, the MIT Club of Wisconsin will also honor Oshkosh Truck as its Large Company winner.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has supported the work of both of these UW–Madison winners, and is also a sponsor and supporter of the Tech Awards banquet.
Keynote speaker for the banquet will be Jeff Tester, H.P. Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, who will speak on “Transitioning to a Sustainable Energy Future – Evolving Roles of Renewables.” The banquet will be held on Friday from 5-9 p.m. at the Country Springs Conference Center and Water Park in Waukesha.
The MIT Club of Wisconsin was recently awarded the Presidential Citation by the MIT Alumni Association for this program, the highest honor given to an organization. This program is unique throughout the world, among all MIT Alumni clubs. There are approximately 550 MIT alums in Wisconsin.
